Rainblade-Ryalors Open Vulpinsula & Surroundings Westisle Cultural Appreciation Day

[Aramaeus Lemon]

As the party entered the tavern restaurant, scowls were exchanged all around, the atmosphere of tension breaking out into clear resentment between the golden-furred invitee and the rest of the younger entourage. As Orina greeted her fellow vice minister, however, Aramaeus's eyes widened, and he hurriedly straightened and dusted off his coat. "Vice Minister Bluemoon!" he greeted their host with an elaborate bow. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir!"

Mileya, in the meantime, hovered near the back with her brother, his beau, and their adoptive daughter. "Wait for us to be introduced," she murmured from the corner of her mouth. "Addressing a lord or minister without an introduction just makes a rat's tail of you - case in point," she subtly nodded to the golden fox unknowingly humiliating himself before one of the most powerful beasts in the Imperium.

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

What happened to poor Mr. Larsen happened so fast that he barely had time to register it. First, there was a commotion from inside the building -- and then he was swarmed with street kits. Even Finn, who was trying his best to keep the baker from looking inside the warehouse, couldn't help but wheel around at the sound of a rack falling over to gawk.

As the young dibbuns clammored guiltily before him, the baker threw his paws in the air, and pushed between Cricket and Finn. "Aww gates, there goes th' cooling rack..." he grumped, waddling towards the bakery. "Notch Ear, I told y'not to hang off th'cooling racks!" he chided, pulling his apron off to fan away the cloud of flour. "Now y've wasted all th'flour and I've gotta send y'out to get another bag! Th'Ministry of Niceties isn't made of gilders, don'cha know!"

Finn, however, didn't need a second reminder that it was time to leave. Mariel had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Cricket was tugging him away. "BYEMRLARSENitwasgoodtoseeyouagainsorryaboutthecupcakesgottago!" he blurted out, dashing away into the alley with his cohort.

"Cupcakes? What'n the name of Vulpuz are y'talking about Fin--aww not again..." FOOM.

Suddenly, a ball of fire blew the bakerfox off his feet, knocking him flat on his back in the alley. His footpaws went up into the air with a cry, and seconds later he tipped over like a doll onto his seat. He patted his fur down exasperatedly, and teetered his way painfully back onto his feet. "NOTCH EAR! Ya left the rotten oven open again! What'd I tell you about open flames around large baking operations!? Awh gates lookatcher fur... ...that's gonna take a while to grow back."

Cool guys, as they say, don't look at explosions -- they just walk away. But it was hard to be a cool guy while stuffing pink frosted cupcakes in your kimono.

 

[Callisto Bluemoon]

Callisto and his entourage were not long waiting before company arrived. The wolverine’s expression brightened at the sight of the other Vice-Minister when she arrived, himself tall enough to observe those who followed her with professionally-veiled amusement. What an…intriguing assembly of beasts. His gaze darted briefly between the strange dynamics playing out (a curious intervention on the marten’s part) before focus was diverted back to Orina.

“Ah, Ms Emberkin! An absolute pleasure, as always.” Bending to return the gesture Callisto followed up to shake her paw. “I’m glad, as well: touch and go with Amarone, as always. I’m sure they’ll reel me back in eventually, so I fully intend to make the most of this change of pace. How have things been in Bully Harbour for you of late?”

Another voice interjected then, one from the assembly, and Callisto straightened up to regard the golden todd who had blurted his introduction. An inscrutable mask settled on his broad face. Any response was withheld for a beat to allow the youngster to stew in uncertainty before he looked once more to Orina. “The company you keep is certainly lively today. In the spirit of the celebrations, eh? Well met.” He inclined his head to Aramaeus and the other beasts before gesturing to those behind him. “I have in my own company Juneau Baudelaire, who works in the Hrumvet Hooper Building, and my personal assistant Fearne.”

Juneau inclined his head politely, first to Orina with a polite “madam” before acknowledging the other arrivals: the well-practiced gesture of one more than used to such level of introduction. Fearne, in her own nervousness, spoke not a word but dipped a quick curtsy and flashed a smile.

 

[Orina Emberkin]

Orina gave each of those introduced a nod and smile, completely ignoring Aramaeus for the moment. "Pleased to meet you both. Thank you for joining us this afternoon."

She turned to the side, gesturing to those she had brought with her. "Allow me to introduce the entourage I've collected today in my forays. The bold, golden one is Aramaeus Lemon of the Ministry of Justice. The other two vulpines are of the Ryalors, Daniil and Mileya, nephew and niece of the Minister of Innovation and Minister of Misanthropy. Mileya serves directly with the Empress herself in Amarone. Then we have the long-lost scion of the Freemont family, Caden Freemont, and his daughter Asta Dalgaard."

Caden's ear twitched as he withered internally, though it was the only external sign of his discomfort. The marten kept himself otherwise still and straight, gaze close enough to the wolverine to appear as though he was looking at him while he stepped forward and executed a perfect bow before straightening and addressing the vice minister with the well-practiced ease of a beast born to nobility.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Vice Minister. I must say, I did not expect to find myself in the company of one politician of such esteem today, much less two. I look forward to our discourse, as there is a great deal I have missed in Imperial politics during my long absence."

Asta stared at her adoptive father, then glanced at Mileya and Daniil, unsure what she was supposed to do.

 

[Daniil Ryalor]

Daniil was similarly hesitant, glancing to Caden for guidance before looking to his sister as she stepped forward and dipped into a curtsey. "It is an honor, Vice Minister Bluemoon," she addressed their host courteously. "I am certain that you would not remember me, but we became briefly acquainted at the Empress’s last jubilee. Your toast at the time was inspired, and many heard the Empress speaking quite fondly of you thereafter."

Daniil had to fight not to raise an eyebrow. He recognized what he'd come to think of as 'the Dusk voice', that slick manner of speaking that his aunt had instilled in Mileya for use in delicate social situations, slathering every word in honey to obscure any grit. He chose to follow Mileya wit a bow and a brief murmured greeting, though he refrained from extending a paw; he had made enough faux pas over the years to know that such was the host's prerogative. He did allow himself another glance at Caden, apprehensive as to what purpose the vice ministers could have in gathering them together. He hated being asked to speak on behalf of the Ryalors, especially since he only provisionally considered himself to be one. He was sure that Caden felt the same with the Freemonts.

Aramaeus, for his part, seemed to have no such reticence. "It is absolutely delightful to be acquainted with all of you," he declared, offering his paw to their hosts in breach of protocol. "You know, I was just thinking the other day that we should really be coordinating with the other ministries more. Now that the Ministry of Justice is established, it's so redundant, each ministry having their own investigative force. Really, it would make far more sense to fold all of the auditors and investigators into Justice, so we can pursue the cases on everyone's behalf, wouldn't you say?"

 

[Mariel Rustyfangs]

Mariel led the kit and the hatchling down the street, going a the pace that was leisure yet definitely fast. She... should've predicted that spilling lots of flour would make a firey explosion, after all, her mom did show her a bit of how to mix common ingredients into dangerous concoctions, calling it chemistry. The kitten felt actually quite sorry for it, her ears and tail slumped as she walked. She wanted to steal cupcakes, not destroy them and a warehouse. After all, as her mother said often, professionals have standards.

To Mariel it was however a sign also that there was yet aplenty to learn, she had a sharp mind and could think fast, but clearly her planning required... a bit of polish.

Or she could remain the bravado and just become the most lucky adventurer, easy enough, she thought.

Battling between the two, she led their group into an alleyway behind a trading house, one she knew very very well. It was her first real home after all, a place owned by her mother and also a proof of enormous love Naika had for Mariel, something that always made the kitten happy. Something which managed to cast away the memory of ablazed warehouse.

Now however she lived with her mother at a different place, yet following her teachings, she had multiple stashes and hideouts around the city. This one was the safest. She walked over to the part of the wall that was between two large crates with the logo of the trading house. Nothing too out of ordinary... Then she pushed the wall on the left side, rotating it and revealing a hidden entrance. Her mother was one very cautious cat.

"Come, it's not a long crawl and just one tunnel. You can't lose your way even if ya can't see in the dark! Just make sure to close the wall behind you!"

Then she went into the tunnel, very quickly finding herself in a secret room, one that was just enough to fit maybe two kits standing in it, but fortunately it was plenty vertical. Mariel's number one hideout was filled with hammocks and shelves to climb up as the room (more like a chimney) was at least two floors tall. Plenty of books were put wherever there was a spot for them as well as Mariel's drawings, writings, snacks and hundreds of little items. Cool sticks and rocks, small clay figurines, feathers, scales, shiny pebbles... One thing was certain, Mariel had a hoarding problem.

She climbed up the wall to get just high enough to let others enter. Then, waiting for their arrival, she started taking out the cupcakes licking her chops and preparing for the feast.

@FinnianBrightfur @Cricket

 

[Anastasia Ryalor]

Anastasia smiled coyly and listened as she watched and listened to the blind leopard dig in, fascinated by the unhinged ferocity at which this barbarian attacked her food and the confidence in which she asserted her fighting skills. The true princess doubted she possessed them anywhere near as much as she herself did, but that was not required for this mission, only enthusiasm and the perception of being harmless, which Korya fit. She gave a nod towards the bar tender to bring another round of sushi, along with more noodles.

“We can definitely do both,” she asserted “but tell me, how long would it take for you to cook a meal for, say, twenty or so? Full course. And would you require assistance?”

@Korya

 

[Korya]

"Full course..."

A strange expression crossed the little feline's face. She was thinking, which wasn't something she liked to do often, or for long periods of time.

"I have a single pot and a single pan, back home, and only a little sack of flour and some spices at the moment. I'd need to go to market, and that's... today... a bit of a rough journey for me. If I do full bowls of noodles, that's going to be... five pots of water, about... And full course, desert, salads, side dishes? Oof! Assistance would definitely be needed, and planning... For noodles, having some good bread to dip and dab with would be nice, and for good bread you need time to rise it... Er, I don't think I'll be able to do much more than noodles..."

Her ears drooped. She dabbed at herself with her knuckles, licked them clean, and groomed a little to make sure all the crisply little flakes of eggroll and sushi rice had been mopped up and devoured. But still, her ears drooped. She was just one little street noodle chef, how could she possibly do catering for a princess's diplomatic mission?

"I'm afraid you might have the wrong beast, I'm sorry..."